D-Files

Sunday, February 3, 2008

“…should our grandsons study about kris to foreign people…?”When I was interested to explore and write about kris, the statement above hasn’t flashed in my mind yet. When it was getting enjoyable and more enjoyable in knowing kris further with reading various literatures, I saw a little note on the cover of a book titled ”KembangRampai Warta Pameran Tosan Aji Yayasan Masagung”, which has the sentence above. Then I realized the importance of knowing and loving the various national cultures, including kris between them, that is getting more abandoned by the young generations these days.As a religious nation, our ancestors always made daggers and other sharp-bladed weapons accompanied with prayers. For example, prayer so that their own-made krises do not—hopefully—hurt the krises’s owners or anybody else. In the 7th, 8th, and 9th century, the krises that were made were named Buddha krises, where for our ancestors, prosperity is their main target of living. Be a leader, a prosperous leader. Be a farmer, a prosperous farmer, and so on. In the Hindu Era, the kris culture followed the developments, because the people were divided by castes, which were Brahmana, Ksatria, Waisya, Sudra and Paria with different targets and ambitions of living, for example, Brahmana with their monastery benefits, Ksatria with their leadership and soldiership benefits, and others. In the struggling era, krises were used as weapons by the freedom fighters to expel the colonizers.Kris is an artifact that is a ‘fusion’ of the material knowledge, metal handiwork knowledge, chiseling knowledge, carving knowledge, etc. In Indonesia there are various technologies of making kris, and the marvelous thing here is that our ancestors who lived a long time ago already knew the technique and various knowledge about tosan aji, which is even according to my own mind, is quite complicated and there were several things that cannot accepted logically.Like in Javanese philosophy, there was an ancient guide which said that the completeness of a Javanese adult can be said ‘perfect’ only if he already completed 5 criteria, that are curiga—kris/weapon, turangga—horse/vehicle, wisma—house, wanita—wife and kukila—bird/entertainment/hobby.The weapon meant here, besides kris, could also meant useful wisdom and knowledge, provisions of education with use of facing the obstacles of living.So, friends, let’s know our culture better from now on! Do not let foreign people know our culture better than we are!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

It first began in the Koboi Laboratories, where Opal Koboi, the pixie, lay down in a comma. It’s quite unique that she made herself in a comma, after the incident in the previous book, Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident. Actually, in her long, very long comma she has been planning to make revenge to the fairies, but then, she actually wanted to make revenge to the boy, Artemis Fowl.Artemis and Butler are back to their old-old life, doing some ‘human’ crimes because they got their memory wiped. This time, they did it at Berlin, in a bank. There was a kind of painting that got Artemis’s interest. And so, after a doing the mastermind’s plan, they got the painting.After successfully made her escape through the Koboi Labs, Opal Koboi ‘invited’ Commander Root and Captain Holly Short to E37, a place in the Lower Elements. Koboi asked them to come inside the tunnel. Koboi got them! She had thought about all the possible holes in her plan, so Foaly and others cannot know what is happening. For them, it seemed that CAPTAIN HOLLY SHORT shot her own leader. Root is dead.Artemis and Butler are in a very serious danger. Captain Holly Short knew that she must save them. With the help of Mulch Diggums the dwarf, Artemis’s and Butler’s memory come back perfectly, nothing missed. And so, with the astonishing combination of Artemis’s brilliant mind and awesome fairy equipments, Artemis, Holly, Butler and Mulch got Opal caught.

That’s only the main idea of the story. There are still a lot of brilliant acts and ways doing their mission. Returning Artemis’s and Butler’s memory isn’t as easy as turning your palm down, and so was catching Opal Koboi. Awesome description by Mr. Eoin Colfer!

So, read the book! Very awesome! Won’t disappoint you! Oh and then, wait for my review of the fifth book,

How do you think about my previous reviews? I hope they quite entertained you… Now, let’s continue to the third book, Artemis Fowl and The Eternity Code.

The story begins in Dublin, Ireland. Artemis has made an advanced computer, made from the stolen fairy techs, named the C-Cube. The almost-fourteen criminal mastermind has set up an appointment with an American tycoon, Jon Spiro, in a seafood restaurant, to talk about Artemis’s latest ‘invention’. Spiro was very captivated by the cube’s ability. But Artemis did not want to sell the cube. Unfortunately, very unfortunately, all of the customers in the restaurant were Spiro’s men. But Butler has installed a trap, so all the ‘secret agents’ went down to ground, except one. His name is Arno Blunt. He survived just because a pair of earmuffs. He aimed and shot to Artemis. Butler jumped to cover his principal, but the Kevlar suit he was wearing wasn’t enough to hold the bullet. Butler was down, and the C-Cube is stolen.Arno Blunt ran away just before the cops arrived. Artemis must think quickly, very quickly. He hid Butler’s body in the freezer to hold the body’s cells from dying, and then he called to a Cryogenic Clinic. He borrowed a car, a special gadget-ed car. After Butler’s body was treated properly, he made a call. A special call. He just said a few fairy-related words, and then Foaly must have traced him. Foaly sent Captain Holly Short to investigate. Artemis met Holly, again, and told the entire story. Holly ‘revived’ Butler from death, even with some difference. Butler became older, slower, and weaker.Meanwhile, in Chicago, Jon Spiro and his scientists couldn’t break the code Artemis set in the cube. But Jon Spiro hasn’t given up yet. He sent a pair of ‘bounty hunters’ to kidnap Artemis Fowl. One of the pair was Mulch Diggums. Artemis, Holly and Butler got rid to the other man. Then they (without Butler) went back to America. But they got the replacement for Butler, which was nobody new, Juliet Butler herself. With some plan in the hand, of course. After they arrived in America, they started the plan, very soon.Eventually, Artemis got the cube back. But there was a lot to pay for the action. Butler’s ability decreases very greatly. Then, another part of the deal of reviving Butler, Artemis’s, Butler’s, and Juliet’s memory about fairies must been erased.

What will happen after Artemis mind-wiped? Let’s just see inside the fourth book, Artemis Fowl and the Opal Deception.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Have you read my previous book review about Artemis Fowl? This time still with Artemis Fowl with his brilliant ideas.

The story is about Young Master Artemis (he's 13 now) heard a rumor about the location of his father, Artemis Fowl the First. Artemis Senior was kidnapped by the Russian Mafiya in the Arctic Circle. Well so previously Artemis Junior kidnapped somebody, now he must help someone who was being kidnapped! Interesting, eh?As the story goes, Artemis Jr. and his loyal manservant Butler had settled up a plan to go to Russia. Unfortunately, there's also some problem happened in the lower world. Goblins were suspected for making contact with a Mud Man (fairy's nickname for human) and beginning to rebel in the lower world. Commander Root and Holly thought that Artemis was the one behind all this. But no. There's another person named Luc Carrere, a Frenchman. Artemis and Butler were taken to the lower world, and were interrogated by Root, Holly and Foaly. Then they made a deal. After that they got rid the Frenchman.There's one new character in this book, a pixie named Opal Koboi. She's a brilliant pixie. She's the founder of the Koboi Laboratories, a weaponry industry. She, with Briar Cudgeon, wanted to take over the fairy world. Actually it’s Cudgeon who wanted to take over the fairy world…Artemis, Butler, Holly, Root and Mulch Diggums, the kleptomaniac dwarf, broke through to the Koboi Laboratories. They divide tasks, and finally caught Cudgeon on his tails (fairies don't have tails ;p) after he trapped Foaly, but then Foaly settled up a trap to for Cudgeon. Cudgeon's caught dirty, and so Opal was mad.After they get rid of the troubles in the LE, Holly and Root must complete their promise, helping Artemis Jr. help Artemis Sr... And so they went to the Arctic Circle, help Artemis Sr., and then things went back to normal.

Interested? Read the book and enter Artemis's wicked world in www.artemisfowl.co.uk or www.artemis-fowl.com

The story is about Artemis Fowl, who is not only a child prodigy, but also a brilliant criminal mastermind. He was only 12 years old!!He wanted to restore the glory of the Fowl family (well, dynasty actually). So he and his bodyguard, Butler (who has been body guarding young Master Artemis since his birth) settled up a plan to return the glory of the Fowl dynasty by kidnapping a fairy named Captain Holly Short, and wanting a tonne of fairy gold for ransom.There are astonishing fairy technologies told in the story, and there's also the brilliant centaur, Foaly, with his awesome inventions. Fairies even can stop time!In this story, Artemis and Butler must face obstacles, starting from the LEP (Lower Elements Police) Recon and Retrieval Squad ambushing the Fowls' home, the Fowl Manor; the fairy commander, Julius Root; and even a giant troll. One more thing, Artemis must survive a bio hazard bomb in a time field, which the fairies believe it’s impossible to do that. But there’s nothing impossible for the cunning Artemis. He successfully escaped the time field, also the bomb.

Interested? Read the book or enter Artemis's wicked world in www.artemisfowl.co.uk or www.artemis-fowl.com